A Man Called Ove

Before I start I have to say that this will struggle to be an unbiased review because I LOVED this book. From start to finish I was totally gripped and on finishing I bought the next book by the author. Fredrik Backman has a way of creating characters that you either love or hate (depending on if they are good or bad of course!)

Ove is a man who is somewhat taciturn and isolated. His wife has died, a wife he adored and can’t quite seem to function without. He’s basically decided that he would rather die than continue without her.

The problem with reviewing this book is that if I tell you too much (and believe me I could wax lyrical) then it will ruin it. What I will say is that I defy you not to be rooting for Ove not to succeed at suicide even though you’ll adore his wife and understand why he wants to be with her. I am certain that you’ll enjoy all the other characters as well who are so well developed and interesting. I think ultimately it’s just a beautiful story about how people can bring out the best and worst in others. The book is set in Sweden, but it could be anywhere. It’s about people and life and loss and love and family.

To give you an idea of how moving it is, if you were in Al Ahli Driving centre yesterday at around 3 I was the girl sobbing into her kindle!